Suspected credit union robber shot by police

Witnesses say man pointed gun at officer.

August 21, 2011|LOU MUMFORD | Tribune Staff Writer

Tribune Photo

SOUTH BEND -- A man suspected of robbing the Notre Dame Federal Credit Union, 3457 Portage Ave., reportedly was recovering after undergoing surgery Saturday for wounds suffered when he was shot by a South Bend police officer.

The alleged robber pulled a handgun that witnesses reported he had hidden behind his back and pointed it at the officer just prior to being shot. Neither he nor the officer who shot him was immediately identified.

The officer wasn't injured, investigators said.

The shooting played out about 9:45 a.m. Saturday on the southwest corner of the Portage Avenue Bridge over the Indiana Toll Road, about a block from the holdup scene. Witnesses told The Tribune they observed an officer pull up in a squad car and confront the man, who was on foot and had a ski mask over his face as he headed south over the bridge.

He was carrying a bag believed to contain money from the robbery, witnesses said.

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"I heard the cop tell the guy to put the bag down ... (but) the guy reached around his back and pulled out a gun. The guy pointed it at the cop, and then we heard between five and six shots, roughly. Then the guy went down,'' said J.R. Machowiak, an employee at J&S Service on Portage.

"The cop told him to, 'Put the gun down, put the gun down,' three or four times. He gave him a chance.''

John Krebs said he had just stopped at the service station for work on his car when he, too, saw the officer confront the man on the bridge.

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"He said, 'Drop the bag, drop the bag.' He (the alleged robber) had the bag in his right hand and the gun in back. He switched hands,'' Krebs said, indicating the man who was shot switched the bag to his left hand before reaching behind his back for the weapon. "It looked like the guy was going to drop it for a minute.''

South Bend Police Division Chief Gary Horvath said witnesses who called 911 reported observing a man wearing something over face enter the credit union about 9:30 a.m. Just seconds after the robbery, more reports were received from witnesses regarding the man's direction of travel, he said.

St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Commander Tim Corbett said "a significant amount of evidence'' was recovered at the shooting scene. He didn't identify the items, however.

Asked if the alleged robber fired any shots, Corbett said he wouldn't know until investigators checked the man's weapon. But even if he didn't, Corbett indicated the officer's response was justified.